15 MB - Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute

Meeting participants contributed a number of additional recommendations related to long­term issuesassociated with the assembly, storage and management of the database. Of great importance was theestablishment of both baseline information and projected trends among a wide range of factors in theindustry. Specific recommendations included:• Consider the utility of data for projections into the future and tracking trends.• Data pertaining to investments in the infrastructure are critical. The system should account forcurrent costs, projected costs, investments (over different planning horizons) and the benefits ofinvestments; include the costs of making no investments• Include data that have been developed jointly between government and private interests—thesedata have considerable utility and credibility• Seek permissions in acquiring, storing and disseminating data. Acquire MOUs before includingdata in the system• Check for gaps in the data and additional needs for data that may not yet be available• Document caveats in working with the data—prepare a metadata reference page.The data collection efforts and recommendations for the project site obtained from the June 9 Meeting thusset the direction for the remainder of Phase I of this project and formed the basis for the approach to befollowed in subsequent phases of the project. Given the continuing nature of this project, the contents ofthis report should not only contain the progress of the project and work completed to date, but also a seriousdiscussion of the direction of our data management and delivery efforts in the upcoming months and years.The following section covers the direction that the project team plans to take in our next steps.15